Farewell to a theologian whose mind and heart alike were always trained on Christ

 

Farewell to a theologian whose mind and heart alike were always trained on Christ

VATICAN CITY (VATICAN CITY)
Crux [Denver CO]

September 1, 2024

By John L. Allen Jr.

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Any journalist who’s ever worked a beat cultivates as many contacts as possible, but usually there’s that one source you rely on more than others – the figure whose intelligence, integrity and reputation mean that when the chips are down, it’s the voice you always want front and center.

For the first fifteen years or so of my career covering the Vatican, for me that go-to figure, especially on anything involving Catholic theology, was Jesuit Father Gerald O’Collins, who became not just a valued source but a good friend.

His Aug. 22 death at the age of 93, therefore, left me profoundly sad. More than that, it leaves the entire Catholic Church impoverished, at a time when his sanity, balance, and lack of rancor will be especially missed.

I first met O’Collins in the mid-1990s, when he was already two decades into his 33-year run on the theology faculty of…